Make a Paper Plate Reindeer

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A popular way to measure and treasure your child’s physical growth is by making handprints as keepsakes. This activity spotlights everyone’s favorite reindeer, Rudolph, and preseves your child's handprints in his "antlers". While embarking upon this nifty winter project, your child will utilize manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination and hand/wrist flexibility.

What You Do:

Start by asking your child to paint both plates with a coat of brown paint. Set them aside to dry for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, make the reindeer’s antlers. Trace your child’s left and right hands twice on brown craft foam.

Ask your child to carefully cut both pairs of handprints out.

Next, ask your child to draw two ears on the tan craft foam or felt and cut them out. Those will be the inner section of the reindeer’s ears.

Using the tan cutouts as a guideline, your child can make a larger set by drawing around those shapes about half an inch wider all the way around. Have him cut those out and set them aside.

When the paint is dry, ask your youngster to glue the googly eyes onto the large plate.

Then, instruct him to glue the red pom-pom onto the smaller plate as shown.

Now it’s time to add the antlers. Have your child glue one antler to another and then to the back of the large plate using hot glue. Each side should have two pairs of adorable handprint antlers.

Add the ears to the rim of the large plate with a dot of hot glue.

Glue the tan pieces onto the brown pieces with another dot of hot glue.

Assist your child in punching two holes at the top of the plate and thread ribbon or yarn through the holes and tie a knot.

Pick a place in the house where your new reindeer can be prominently hung and displayed for all to enjoy!

Did You Know?

Unlike other species of deer, both male and female reindeer have antlers. They shed their antlers during the winter because doing so enables them to better camouflage themselves and avoid predators such as wolves, coyote and bears.